Lidl’s Kickstart graduates see products hit shelves on Thursday; who’s made the 2024 list?

If your Instagram following list is anything like mine, you’ve been seeing a lot of ‘it’s almost time’ kind of posts and stories this week as Lidl’s Kickstart Supplier Development Programme graduates for 2024 see their products head for store shelves.

On Thursday 19 September, over 100 artisan products from over 45 Irish producers will hit Lidl shelves north and south for a two week stretch, or while stocks last. The latest batch of products (you’ll find a full list below) will likely have you dropping a few Euro in Lidl before the end of the month.

This year’s Kickstart standouts include sisters Aisling & Sadhbh Wood’s Bean Around Exfoliating Coffee Bars made from used coffee beans (don’t go binning those pucks yet!), Emi Takakura’s Slice of Life Pizza, a frozen high protein pizza with a cauliflower crust made with all-natural ingredients and recyclable packaging, David Keane’s DK Connemara Oysters and Niall Sabongi’s Smoked Haddock Lasagne, both of which I’m looking forward to trying / braving, along with Conor Sweeny’s Dae Bites, delicious brownie and cookie bites which are free from 13 of the 14 top allergens.

While there’s no representation from Kilkenny on the latest list, up the road from me in Clonmel you’ll find Rivesci, whose chilli catsup with Irish cider vinegar, is also hitting Lidl shelves. If you’ve ever tried their Cashew Chilli Crush (a three-star Great Taste winner), you’ll like this latest offering.

“It is a very exciting and proud day for our Kickstart suppliers as they see their range of more than 100 products land on Lidl shelves in every one of our 222 stores across the island of Ireland. This is the cumulation of six months of hard work, collaborating with our in-house experts and receiving practical guidance on how to scale production, drive production efficiency, as well as product development, branding and packaging support, allowing these suppliers to optimise this opportunity and scale for success. We’re looking forward to seeing our customers’ response to these new innovative products”, that’s according to Kate O’Driscoll, supplier development manager at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland.

To date, the retailer has invested more than €30 million in supporting over 250 Irish producers through the Kickstart Development Programme.

Check out the full list of this year’s featured producers and products below.